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. 2015 Jan;205(1):329-38.
doi: 10.1111/nph.13040. Epub 2014 Sep 29.

Photoreceptor-mediated kin recognition in plants

María A Crepy  1 , Jorge J Casal
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Free article

Photoreceptor-mediated kin recognition in plants

María A Crepy et al. New Phytol. 2015 Jan.
Free article

Abstract

Although cooperative interactions among kin have been established in a variety of biological systems, their occurrence in plants remains controversial. Plants of Arabidopsis thaliana were grown in rows of either a single or multiple accessions. Plants recognized kin neighbours and horizontally reoriented leaf growth, a response not observed when plants were grown with nonkin. Plant kin recognition involved the perception of the vertical red/far-red light and blue light profiles. Disruption of the light profiles, mutations at the PHYTOCHROME B, CRYPTOCHROME 1 or 2, or PHOTOTROPIN 1 or 2 photoreceptor genes or mutations at the TRYPTOPHAN AMINOTRANSFERASE OF ARABIDOPSIS1 gene required for auxin (growth hormone) synthesis impaired the response. The leaf-position response increases plant self-shading, decreases mutual shading between neighbours and increases fitness. Light signals from neighbours are known to shape a more competitive plant body. Here we show that photosensory receptors mediate cooperative rather than competitive interactions among kin neighbours by reducing the competition for local pools of resources.

Keywords: competition; cryptochrome; fitness; kin; phototropin; phytochrome; shade avoidance.

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